WordPress coming soon page

Whether you’re launching a new website or relaunching an old one, a WordPress coming soon page is a great way to tell your visitors what’s happening.

Done right, a coming soon page can even be used to build excitement for the website you’re launching.

👉 This guide will answer all of your questions about how to create a coming soon page in WordPress:

Let’s dive into it!

What is a coming soon page in WordPress?

A WordPress coming soon page tells anyone who comes to your domain that there will be a website there soon.

These pages are typically quite simple, with a business name, logo, and the words “coming soon” featured in the center of the page.

Some also include specific launch dates, countdown timers, and other elements designed to build excitement.

Why create a coming soon page in WordPress?

There’s a lot to do when building your website: choosing a theme, customizing it to match your brand identity, installing all of the correct plugins, and creating core website pages like your “About” page.

This means that sometimes you’ll have a domain for a few weeks, maybe even months, before you launch your website.

👉 There are a couple of benefits to creating a coming soon page in WordPress:

  • Let people know what’s going on with your site. A coming soon page lets visitors know that there will be a website at your domain soon.
  • Build excitement. You can use promotional images, dates, and countdown timers on a coming soon page to build excitement for your launch.
  • Get on Google’s radar. You can index your WordPress coming soon page in Google so that your site has a longer history once you start adding content.

In short, a WordPress coming soon page can be a valuable marketing tool that allows you to gain potential leads even before your site launches.

Now that you understand its value, let’s take a look at how to create a coming soon page in WordPress!

How to create a WordPress coming soon page with LightStart

LightStart is a free WordPress plugin that makes it easy to set up a WordPress coming soon page without needing any technical knowledge.

It also includes unique features that most similar plugins don’t offer, such as a built-in chatbot feature to collect information from your coming soon page’s visitors.

Beyond coming soon pages, you can also use it to put your site in maintenance mode if you ever need to do a major website overhaul or perform heavy-duty maintenance.

You can find LightStart by going to Plugins > Add New in the WordPress admin area and searching for it.

Once you’ve installed the plugin, follow the steps below:

1. Choose a template

When LightStart finishes installing, click Activate.

This opens a page where you can select a Maintenance, a Coming Soon, or a Landing Page template.

You can also choose to build a page from scratch.

LightStart template options

For the purposes of this article, I used the Coming Soon template.

However, you can also access some additional templates by closing this window and going to Settings > LightStart > Design.

2. Add information about your brand

Next, you’ll want to customize various aspects of your coming soon page.

The plugin should automatically open the WordPress editor for your coming soon page. If it doesn’t, you can manually access the editor by going to your Pages list and editing the page that’s marked as “Coming Soon Page”.

Start by clicking on the image at the top and choosing Replace. You can replace this image with your logo, a product image, or another image relevant to your brand.

Replace logo image

Next, click on Our Website is Coming soon to customize this with your brand name. You can also convert this into a call to action (CTA), such as “Come back soon to work with (business name).”

3. Set up the timer

In addition to the static design, you can also add a countdown timer to build some excitement. Lightstart makes it really easy!

Click on the countdown timer next to open customization options in the sidebar:

LightStart countdown timer settings

There are several things you can customize about the countdown timer, including:

  • Date – Click on the date listed to move it. You can specify the precise time of your launch as well.
  • Display – The measurements of time you’ll include in the countdown.
  • Dimensions – How big your countdown block is.

You can also add block tools to change things like Visibility conditions, which control who sees your countdown when they visit your coming soon page.

4. Add your social media links

The next area of the LightStart WordPress coming soon page template is designated to social media. It lets you promote your brand’s social media profiles.

You can customize the text here, but the most important thing is to click on each social icon and add a link to your profile on that site:

Add social media links

While you’re here, be sure to delete any images for social media sites you don’t have accounts on. You don’t want to have buttons that don’t go anywhere!

5. Customize your signup form

The final step of editing your coming soon page is to customize your signup form. You’ll want to create a bold CTA and an informative tagline to draw people in. You can also customize the form’s appearance, the email people receive after completing the form, and more in the sidebar:

LightStart signup form

Make sure you scroll down the settings to Marketing Integrations and connect the form to your email marketing service!

If you’re not already using an email marketing service, you might want to read our collections of the best free email marketing services or best cheap email marketing services.

In the case you can’t find your email marketing platform in the list, replace this form with one from your preferred forms plugin.

And, with that final step out of the way, you’ve completed your coming soon page design!

6. Set up a chatbot (optional)

Another unique feature in LightStart is the ability to add a chatbot to your coming soon page so it can collect visitors’ information.

If you want to set this feature up, you can go to Settings > LightStart > Manage Bot. Set its status to Activated and then configure the chatbot behavior according to your preferences:

LightStart chatbot settings for the WordPress coming soon page

7. Activate and control your WordPress coming soon page

By default, LightStart should activate your coming soon page right away.

To further control its behavior, you can go to Settings > LightStart.

Make sure the status is set to Activated. Then, you can choose how to handle visitors to your site.

By default, all non-admin users will see your coming soon page. However, when you’re logged in to your WordPress admin account, you’ll still be able to access your underlying site.

If you want to adjust that behavior, you can do so here. And when you’re ready to go live with your full site, you just need to come back here and set the status to Deactivated:

How to activate your WordPress coming soon page

How to create a WordPress coming soon page with Neve + Otter Blocks

The next way to create a coming soon page in WordPress is to use Neve with Otter Blocks.

pricing for WooCommerce themes like Neve

Neve is a highly customizable WordPress theme that allows you to do things like hiding menus and title pages. It’s essential if you want to keep most of your site hidden while you work on it. You can get the free version by going to Themes > Add New in your WordPress dashboard and searching for Neve.

Otter Blocks is a page builder plugin that works directly with the Gutenberg editor, adding numerous blocks and other options for customization.

You can add Otter Blocks to your website by going to Plugins > Add New and searching for it in the database.

👉 Once you’ve installed Neve and Otter Blocks, follow the steps below to make your WordPress coming soon page:

  1. Set up your page
  2. Add your logo
  3. Add your Coming Soon blurb
  4. Add your countdown timer
  5. Add a CTA + signup form
  6. Add social media links

1. Set up your page

Go to Pages > Add New in your WordPress dashboard to open the page editor, then type Coming Soon into the title area. This makes it possible for WordPress to properly index the page.

You don’t want people to see the title, though. You also don’t want them to see the site menu while pages are still under construction. To avoid this, click on the blue N in the top right corner to open the Neve settings, then toggle the Disable Header option:

WordPress coming soon page - Neve page with an arrow pointing to the "Disable Header" option in the bottom right corner

Next, you’ll want to add your logo or another image related to your brand. You can do this by clicking the + within the editor and choosing an Image block. You can then upload an image into this block:

Image block options in WordPress

3. Add your Coming Soon blurb

The next step in how to create a WordPress coming soon page with Neve + Otter is to add a Coming Soon blurb. This can be as simple as a header that says “[Company name] coming soon:”

WordPress coming soon page with logo + coming soon header

You can also add more details about what you do and the date you plan to launch your site. However, you’ll want to keep the header itself short; additional text can be added in a paragraph block underneath.

4. Add your countdown timer

With your basic company information in place, it’s time to add your countdown timer! Simply open the block menu and search for the Countdown Timer block. Then, click on it to add it to the page. The countdown will automatically show up as all 0s:

WordPress coming soon page with countdown timer block options open

Afterwards, you can use the sidebar settings to set a date, control the appearance of your countdown timer, choose what measurements of time are included, and more. Note that some of the more advanced options are limited to Otter Pro.

5. Add a CTA + signup form

The final step in how to create a WordPress coming soon page with Neve + Otter is to add a signup form so that people can find out when your site will go live. This is a great way to build excitement for your launch and start growing your email list.

Of course, you also need to tell people to subscribe. Add a header asking visitors to do that. If you have an opt-in bonus or other subscriber benefits, you can mention those as well.

With your ask in place, you’re ready to add your subscription form. Add the Otter Blocks Forms block to your page and select the Subscription option. You can then click on individual parts of the form to open their customization options in the sidebar:

Signup form options

To connect the form to your email marketing service, choose Marketing Integrations. This will give you a dropdown list of tools that are compatible with Otter Blocks. Choose your provider, add your API Key, and you’re ready to go!

WordPress coming soon page - signup form with an arrow pointing to the "API Key" box in the sidebar

Note that Otter Blocks can only connect to certain email marketing platforms. If you’re using a service that isn’t compatible, you can complete this step using a plugin like Ninja Forms.

Finally, add the Social Share Icons block. You can add social networks you’re part of by choosing the appropriate logos. Then, click on a logo to see link customization options. You can also change the justification, size, and other display options for the logos:

Social media share icon options

And voila, you’ve built a simple coming soon page that will help you start collecting subscribers before you launch!

Create your WordPress coming soon page today 🚀

Creating a coming soon page in WordPress is easy.

There are two main ways to do it:

  • Use LightStart to access templates that you can easily customize to suit your business, along with unique features like a chatbot to collect visitor information.
  • Use Neve + Otter to create a WordPress coming soon page from scratch.

Either way, make sure that your coming soon page includes your logo, a quick blurb that explains your site will be live soon, and a subscription form so you can start building your email list. You can also use a countdown timer if you know your exact launch date.

When you’re ready to go live, make sure to follow our website launch checklist to make your launch a success.

🏭 Building your first WordPress site? Check out our guide on 👉 how to build a trustworthy WordPress site!

And if you still have any questions about creating your coming soon page, you can leave a comment below!

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